Creating a wooden seat in a grassy mound. How?
SimonTurner
Posts: 6
Hello,
I have recently dug a pond roughly 20m x 10m (sort of kidney shaped). The spoil has been used to create a long grassy mound a few feet from one of the long sides. I have a big piece of seasoned (a slice of a tree) 3.2m x 0.9m x 6cm and also (if need be) some a long straight bits of cedar trunk (300 to 400mm diameter).
I am wondering about using part or all of the oak slab to create a sort of bench embedded into the side of the mound, either totally embedding it, such that it rests entirely on/in the mound (with mound continuing to up behind it to create a sloping back rest) or partially embedding it in the mound and using the cedar stumps as front supports.
Search as I may I can't find any examples of this sort of thing so am wondering if it's a stupid idea for some reason. My own main concerns are with long-term stability but mostly with rot and dampness. How do I ensure that the oak stays dry enough to sit on and the damp from the grassy mound does not make it permanently slimy and unattractive?
Any help, pointers to useful information or design ideas would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
Posts
I would put it in the mound but put it in a recess, you want as little wood touching soil as possible, so I would have the front legs made of wood and only the back edge of the seat sitting on the mound, that'll reduce rot (the back edge may need a footing made of concrete to stop it sinking into the soil).
If you can have a little gap between the seat plank and the grass covered back rest it'll also stop any mud washing onto the seat in the rain
Hello Simon, I wouldn't worry too much about rotting if you're using seasoned oak and cedar, they are both pretty tough. What would be sensible though is to give the mound at least 6 months to settle before you start to excavate a recess. How high is your mound and how will you get up to the seat? Will it be shallow enough just to run/walk up to the seat? You're unlikely to want to sit there over the winter months when it's more likely to be wet and you could always give the wood several coats of wood protector solution.
A small bag of ready mix fence post cement is probably easier and good enough for the footings for a small long bench.
Thanks both
Lizzie, the seat is not *up* the mound but embedded (or not) into the side of it. Whilst sitting on it ones feet will be at ground level. The grassy mound will probably continue up behind the seat at an incline. Possibly like this (see below). Although originally I was thinking of not using the cedar logs and sticking the oak slab much further into/onto the mound.
I'm happy with the cedar resting on the ground (i think). They are heavy. But did think that I might embed some small paving slabs beneath then.